I’ve always been amazed at the popularity of old TV shows. Many of them never had a following until they went off the air into syndication. Sometimes the content might have been ahead of its time…other times; it just finds a new audience.
Most people when you ask them about a favorite old show, they will tell you a classic line phrase from their favorite character: “Up Your Nose With a Rubber Hose!” “DYN-O-MITE!” “Sit On It, Potsie!” “What you talkin’ ‘bout, Willis?” For me, the one that I catch myself saying once in awhile was made famous by the character Fred Sanford- “It’s the Big One, Elizabeth…I’m coming!” Fred was constantly feigning his ultimate heart attack whenever a situation resulted in news that was too unbelievable to comprehend.
I couldn’t help but be reminded of that phrase as each day new reports come out of China with regards to the devastating damage done by the 7.9 earthquake. The number of people killed has already risen to over 51,000 with experts predicting the number to go as high as 80,000 people or more.
Geologists the world over scrambling to predict the next "Big One" to shake the planet will occur. Many of them are saying that the Sichuan quake may be just one in a swarm of major global earthquakes they say are long overdue.
In California, a team of about 300 scientists, governments, first responders and industries worked for more than a year to create a realistic crisis scenario that can be used for earthquake preparedness drills. This is the scenario they envisioned, as published by the USGS. The 7.8 earthquake rips along the San Andreas Fault line shaking the Los Angles basin like a bowl of jelly. Southern California would be left reeling from a blow on par with the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. However, the focus of this task force in preparing for the "Big One" involved consideration that the section of the San Andreas Fault is loaded with the most stored energy and is the most primed to break.
While America's attention is focused on the San Andreas Fault, globally, geologists are much more concerned about the Carmel Fault line. The Carmel Fault line intersects with another major fault line—the Dead Sea Fault. And located directly above where these two fault lines intersect is the northern Israeli city of Megiddo. It runs north to south, the length of Israel. Dr. Amos Salomon of the Israeli Geological Survey, Megiddo [Armageddon in the Bible] is the most likely epicenter for the Next Big One to strike Israel.
Both Turkey and Greece have experienced major quakes in recent times. In fact, geologists have noted recently that the floor of the Mediterranean Sea is fracturing like a sheet of glass. This means that the focal point of tectonic forces is shifting in the region, and an increase in activity is approaching.
The Prophet Zechariah says that when the Lord returns at the conclusion of the battle of Armageddon, He will 'touch down' atop the Mount of Olives. When His feet touch down on the Mount of Olives, an earthquake will open a valley from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. [Zechariah 14:4]
There hasn't been a major shift in the tectonic plates of that region in a thousand years. According to the Israeli Geological Survey, the next one is overdue. And according to the Bible, when it comes, so will Jesus!


